Ember Rose

37

Chase helps me with my suitcase as we walk up to the average sized house. He knocks firmly on the door before placing his hand on the small of my back.

"Chase! Hello, how are yo- Hi!", A man, who was the spitting image of Chase, except older, stutters as he swings open the door. I guessed it was his dad.

"Hey" Chase chuckles.

"I'm Matt" He grins, reaching his arm out to shake my hand, only pulling it away before I had chance to even open my mouth. "I'm sorry, I should- I should probably let you in" He chuckles nervously, shaking his head at himself.

As I monitored Matt's body language and actions, I sort of gathered that he was quite a nervous man. Something told me that there was something more to his nervous behaviour.
Chase guides me in before him, dragging our suitcases in behind me. I feel slightly awkward as Matt stares down at me with a wide smile.

"Chasey!" I hear as a little person comes running past me. It was Elsie.

"Hey bumble!" Chase smiles widely, picking her up before giving her forehead a peck.

Bumble. Fucking bumble. That shit is too cute.

Elsie looks at me timidly, giving me a small but unsure smile.

"Hello" I chuckle as I give her cheek a light pinch. She giggles at me, playing with the ends of her dark gold/brown hair.

"You remember who this is, right?" Chase chuckles, taking the strands of hair from between her fingers and tucking behind her ear. She nods, "Emble".

I give her a small grin, she's so sweet.

"Ember" Chase corrects her, putting her down before giving me a small look.

"Elsie- why don't you show Ember your room; I bet she'll love your dolls house" Chase says, giving me a reassuring look.

I frown slightly, before Elsie grabs my hand.

"Ember!" Matt shouts after me. I stop in my tracks, turning to face both Chase and his dad. Elsie pulls on my hand, so eager to show me her room. "I'm Matt, hello. I should have introduced myself- I'm sorry" He says, approaching me with an extended arm.

Everything seemed to be happening all at once. It was making me feel somewhat nauseous, everyone speaking at the same time; everything  so rushed. Something wasn't right.

I hear a baby cry, obviously Chase's baby brother. Hearing Matt mumble a small, "oh- I better go and see to Archie", before Chase speaks up. "Dad, Faye's seeing to him, I can hear her- please, chill" He says.

Who the fuck is Faye.

"Elsie, c'mon, Embers waiting" Chase huffs.

Elsie tugs on my arm and I follow her with a small frown. My ears were ringing, I was so confused. As Elsie lead me upstairs, I look back over my shoulder, watching Chase place an arm over his dads shoulder before speaking to him quietly, although I heard every word.

"You haven't taken your meds, dad"

Oh.

We get up to Elsies room, a pink painted, everything sparkles and princess kinda room. She closes the door behind us with a shy expression on her face.

"Is this your room?" I ask, trying to make her feel more at ease around me. She nods.

"A-and this is my tinker bell dwess" she grins, tugging at the small tinker bell dress that was hanging up on a hook behind the door.

"Wow! I love tinker bell!" I chuckle, sitting on the floor as she skips over to me, placing a princess tiara on my head. I had no idea where it came from.

I scan the room, my eyes landing on a massive pink dolls house. "Is this your dolls house?" I grin, shuffling over. She nods, opening it up and handing me a small doll.

"Lets play pwincess house" She screeches.

Princess house?

"Ah-ok" I giggle, as she starts to play with her doll.

"I'm the mummy pwincess" She states.

I chuckle, agreeing. For a good fifteen minutes we played with her dolls house. I hadn't realised how into the game I had got, until Chase comes and sits himself next to me. I hadn't even heard him come though the bedroom door.

"Can I play" he smiles at Elsie.

"Yeah, y-you can be the cat" She says, giving him a small cat figure.

I couldn't contain my laugh as I watched the disappointment on his face. "The cat!?" He exclaims.

Elsie nods with a hysteric laugh.

He rolls his eyes before moving the cat towards Elsies figure, meowing loudly before playfully hitting the cat against her dolls leg.

"No! Don't eat her!" She frowns.

I grab my stomach, unable to control my laughter at Chase's 'killer cat' impressions.

"Meow!" He laughs, "you're supposed to be saving your daughter!" He exclaims at me, snatching my figure and smacking the cat.

Both myself and Elsie pause, glancing between Chase and each other before the both of us burst out laughing. Chase frowns at the both of us.

"Thats not the daughter" Elsie screams as Chase still attacks her figure. "Emble's the daughter!" She exclaims, getting up to run away from Chase. Chase grabs her, the both of them in a ball of hysteric laughter on the floor.

"Please!" She cries with laughter as Chase tickles the breath out of her.

After a while, Chase pulls me up off of the floor.
"You haven't met Archie"

He drags me through the house, entering the living room where Matt was holding a baby. They were sitting next to a woman with shoulder length blonde hair who I guessed was Faye. She smiles widely at me.

"Hi, you must be Ember. I'm Faye, Chases step-mum" She gets up to give me a hug. "Sorry I didn't come to greet you at the door earlier, I was seeing to Archie" She explains. I give her an understanding nod.

I watch as Chase lifts Archie off of his dads lap, raising him in the air, earning a bubbly giggle.
"This is Archie" He says as I take the baby off of him.

"Hey Archie!" I squeak, watching as he made bubbles with his lips. He frowns up at me, before reaching out and poking my chin.

Chase laughs as I hand him back. Everything was still slightly awkward, and still seemed really rushed. I was just too afraid to ask if everything was alright.

-

Chase and I went out for dinner. It wasn't anything too special, we just had dinner at a small restaurant. On our journey back, Chase stopped off at a small parking lot overlooking the town.

"Em, I want to tell you about my dad" He says, placing a hand on my thigh.

{A/N ew I hate this chapter,
I didn't really know what to
write I'm sorry, also, updates
may be a little slow for
a while}